Note 18 Level 1

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TheStructuralEngineer November 2012

Technical Technical Guidance Note

Design of timber oor joists

Introduction

One of the most common structural elements is the timber oor joist. This is normally found in residential properties, but can also be seen in medium sized commercial developments. This Technical Guidance Note will explain the principles behind the design of timber oor joists and provide a worked example. All of the advice given will be in accordance with BS EN 1995-1-1 Eurocode 5: Design of Timber Structures Part 1-1: General Common rules and rules for buildings.

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Design principles

Applied practice

Worked example

Further reading

Design principles
Timber is a natural material and is variable both in strength and stiffness. The strength and stiffness of a piece of timber depends on its species, where it was grown, the rate of growth, the number of defects (e.g. knots) and the angle of the grain. In order to make effective structural use of timber it needs to be graded and allocated directly or indirectly to a strength class. The strength of a piece of timber also depends on its moisture content and structural timber should be installed when its moisture content is similar to that experienced during growth. Allowances have to be made for this moisture content when the structure is designed. It should be noted that this Technical Guidance Note is solely concerned with the design of solid timber oor joists and not other forms of compound timber oor joists available. This includes Glulam and

Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) joists as they are beyond the scope of this note.

Member sizes
Timber joists are cut to pre-dened sizes and are limited in their length from a range of 1.8m to 5.4m. It is possible to have lengths of up to 7.2m however, but they do come at a premium due to their paucity. These lengths are subdivided into increments of 0.3m. In regards to cross-section size, Table 2 provides a list of the most commonly available sections, with both machined and sawn timber sizes shown. It is possible to specify timber sizes of up to 300mm deep, but these are difficult and expensive to acquire. Figure 1 provides guidance on the nomenclature used for timber elements, which are referred to throughout this note.

Timber oor joist strength grades and classes

Softwood timber can be visually graded to General Structural (GS) and Special Structural (SS) grades.These grades are then allocated to a particular Strength Class. With respect to timber oor joists, in the UK they are typically sawn from GS and SS softwoods and are graded in two strength classes respectively: C16 and C24. C16 is the more common grade but weaker class and is therefore easier and cheaper to procure. C24 is a little stronger, but more expensive and is generally used where restrictions such as geometry and depth of oor construction play a signicant part in the design of the structure. An example of such an instance would be joists that have long spans or a trimming beam around a large void. The material properties of C16 and C24 timber are given in Table 1.

Table 1: Material properties of softwood timber grades C16 and C24 Properties Characteristic bending strength (N/mm2) fm,k Characteristic shear strength (N/mm2) fv,k Parallel mean modulus of elasticity (N/mm2) E0,mean Mean density (kg/m3) Characteristic density (kg/m3) C16 16 3.2 8000 370 310 C24 24 4.0 11000 420 350

Figure 1 Nomenclature for timber elements

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Table 2: Common sizes of timber oor joists Sawn depth (h) mm 150 175 200 225 250 Sawn width (b) mm 25 38 47 63 75 Machined depth (h) mm 145 170 195 220 245 Machined width (b) mm 22 35 44 60 72

Deformation
The elastic properties of a timber structure depend on the moisture content of the timber and consequently the deection will be dependent on the service class. To take this into account the factor kdef is applied to the elastic modulus properties of the timber. Table 4 denes these values. Table 4: Values of kdef for solid timber joists Service class 1 0.6 2 0.8 3 2.00

Exposure conditions
Timber is a hygroscopic material that absorbs/releases moisture from/to its surrounding environment depending on the amount of moisture in that environment. As the strength and stiffness properties are dependent on the moisture content, it is necessary to account for the environment around the timber. Three service classes have been dened. Examples of typical environments and the respective service class are: Service class 1 intermediate oors, warm roofs, internal and party timber frame walls Service class 2 ground oors, cold roofs, timber frame walls that are against the outer skin of cladding and all other instances where the timber is protected from direct exposure to water Service class 3 external, fully exposed

snow loads, maintenance access and accidental loads Instantaneous fractions of a second e.g. wind, impact and explosive loads The gures given in Table 3 provide the values for the factor kmod , which is the factor that is applied to the strength properties of timber and is based on the imposed load (variable action) duration. Note that in the case of load combinations the load condition with the shortest time period denes the value of kmod . When designing timber elements it is important to check for all conditions and to design the element based on the most critical. These conditions along with their respective kmod values are: Permanent loads with kmod = 0.6 Permanent loads + long term loads with kmod = 0.7 Permanent loads + long term loads + medium term loads with kmod = 0.8 Permanent loads + long term loads + medium term loads + short term loads with kmod = 0.9 Permanent loads + long term loads + medium term loads + short term loads + instantaneous loads with kmod = 1 For timber oor joists within a building the typical critical condition is the imposed oor load with the self-weight of the joists and super-imposed dead load. This load condition results in a value of kmod of 0.8 as it is subject to an imposed load, which is dened as medium term, as well as self-weight.

Short term less than 1 week e.g.

kdef

Enhancement due to shallow member size

The way that the grading rules for structural timber work, means that for joists less than 150mm in depth, some enhancement of the strength is allowed. To reect this, a modication factor kh is applied to bending strength of the timber. If a member is less than or equal to 150mm deep and has a material density of less than 700 kg/m3, then kh factor is dened thus:

or 1.3 whichever is the lesser. For all members that are greater than 150mm deep, the value of kh is taken to be 1.0.

150 0.2 kh = a h k

(1)

Load duration
The strength of a piece of timber is dependent of the duration of the load. The longer the duration of the load the higher the strength of timber that must be provided in order to resist that load. To this end there are a number of factors that are applied to the characteristic properties of the timber as dened in Table 1. The UK National Annex to Eurocode BS EN 1995-1-1 classies load durations as follows: Permanent more than 10 years, e.g. selfweight including nishes Long term 6 months to 10 years e.g. storage loading Medium term 1 week to 6 months e.g. imposed oor loads

Load sharing
Timber oor joists are generally placed at fairly close centres with decking/boarding across them which will distribute load between the joists. To account for this, the modication factor ksys is applied to characteristic strength properties of the timber joist which enhances its resistance to bending and shear stress. Provided the oor boards/boarding has staggered connections and are continuous over at least two spans, the value of ksys is taken to be 1.1. In all other instances the value of ksys is taken to be 1.0.

Lateral torsional buckling of timber joists

In most instances the risk of lateral torsional buckling affecting a oor joist is not present. This is due to the existence of a oor nish that the joists are supporting acting as a restraint. In the rare condition where the compression face of oor joists is not restrained against bending induced torsional rotation, then the factor kcrit is applied to the bending capacity of the joist. For more

Table 3: Values of kmod for solid timber joists Service class 1&2 3 Permanent 0.6 0.5 Long term 0.7 0.55 Medium term 0.8 0.65 Short term 0.9 0.7 Instantaneous 1.10 0.9


Note 18 Level 1

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TheStructuralEngineer November 2012

Technical Technical Guidance Note

information on this, the reader is directed to clause 6.3.3 of BS EN 1995-1-1, which describes the derivation of kcrit.

Design bending strength is dened as:

Serviceability
(5) The deections of timber joists should be limited so that any brittle nishes theyre supporting are not damaged. Table 5 provides guidance on the vertical deection limits for joists that are based on the characteristic imposed loads (variable actions) and dead loads (permanent actions) that are being applied to the oor joists. Creep must also be considered for timber elements as it is a signicant factor when assessing serviceability limits. To allow for this, the instantaneous deection due to the permanent loads is increased by a factor

fm,y,d

k h $ k crit $ k mod $ k sys $ fm,k = cM k mod $ k sys $ fv,k cM

Applied bending stress

The applied bending stress to oor joists is associated to its major axis, which is described as y-y in Figure 1. To determine the design bending stress, the design bending moment is calculated based on the applied loads and support conditions of the joist as well as its geometry. The equation for determining the design bending stress (m,y,d) to a timber joist is as follows:

Design shear strength is dened as:

fv,d =

(6)

v m,y,d =

M y,d Wy

The value of fv,d is then multiplied against the effective depth and width of the timber oor joist at the point of support. This is compared against the applied design shear the timber joist has to support. In order to take into account cracking within the timber, the width of the joist is reduced via factor kcr which for solid timber members is taken as 0.67.

(2)

Where: My,d is the design bending moment Wy is the elastic modulus of the joist, dened as:

Worked example
A timber oor is to span 4.8m and is supporting a characteristic imposed oor load of 2.5kN/m2. The joists are placed at 400mm spacing and have timber boards xed on top that have a self-weight of 0.15kN/m2. The presence of these boards provides full lateral restraint to the timber oor joists as well as allowing for load sharing between oor joists. The nish to the oor is brittle. Check to see if a 250mm x 75mm C16 timber joist can support this load.

Wy =

bh 6

(3)

Applied shear stress

For a simply supported joist the design maximum shear force is equal to the design reaction. In the case of timber the maximum design shear stress (not average shear stress) needs to be checked against the design shear resistance. The maximum design shear stress of a rectangular section is calculated using:

xd =

3V d 2bh

(4)

Where: Vd is the design applied shear force h is the depth of section under consideration at the point of support b is the width of the section under consideration If the beam is notched on the same side as the support, the design shear resistance can be considerably reduced and is a detail which should be avoided if possible.

Partial factor due to material variances

Like all materials used as structural elements, timber has a partial factor, which is applied to its strength properties due to variances within it. In the case of solid timber elements, the partial factor has a value of 1.3.

Bending strength and shear strength

Once the applied forces and subsequent stresses are determined, the design bending and shear strengths of the timber joist need to be calculated. These are compared against the applied design stresses in order to determine the acceptability of the chosen joist size and strength grade.

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Table 5: Deection limits for solid timber joists Use Brittle nishes e.g. plasterboard, ceilings, walls No brittle nishes e.g. roofs Accidental e.g. during a re Deection limit Span/250

(1+kdef ). The instantaneous deection for imposed (variable) load is increased by a factor (1+2,1kdef ), assuming only one variable load.The sum of these deections, less any precamber, provides the overall deection due to bending. There is also the issue of deection due to shear. This is rarely a critical condition, but it is prudent to add 10% to the overall deection to arrive at a nal value to allow for it. Additionally oor joists should be checked to ensure that their vibration performance is acceptable, this can be of concern with joists which span is in excess of 4.0m.

Timber joist span tables

It is possible to refer to timber joist span tables for sizing of joists, such as those included in Table 7 of BS 8103:3 2009. These tables however are limited to imposed loads of 1.5 kN/m2. Alternatively it is possible to use the Eurocode 5 Span Tables, that have been developed by TRADA. These have a similar set of tables, but again are limited to imposed loads of no greater than 1.5 kN/m2. Eurocode 0.

Span/150

Span/20

Applied practice

BS EN 1995-1-1 Eurocode 5: Design of Timber Structures Part 1-1: General Common rules and rules for buildings BS EN 1995-1-1 UK National Annex to Eurocode 5: Design of Timber Structures Part 1-1: General Common rules and rules for buildings BS EN 336 2009: Structural Timber Sizes, permitted deviations BS EN 338 2009: Structural Timber Strength classes BS 8103:3 2009: Structural Design of Lowrise Buildings Part 3: Code of practice for timber oors and roofs for housing

Glossary and further reading

Hygroscopic Moisture absorbing. Modication factors Factors that
are applied to the characteristic material properties of timber elements.

Precamber A forced deformation of a

member that reduces the effect of deection following the application of loads.

Further Reading
The Institution of Structural Engineers/ TRADA (2010) Manual for the design of timber building structures to Eurocode 5 London: The Institution of Structural Engineers/TRADA TRADA (2009) Eurocode 5 span tables for solid timber members (3rd ed.) High Wycombe: TRADA Porteous, J. and Kermani, A. (2007) Structural Timber Design to Eurocode 5 Chichester: John Wiley & Sons